


Red Light, Yellow Light, Green

by shiftylinguini



Series: Blame it on the Moon [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alpha Teddy Lupin, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Blow Jobs, Brief Mention of Self-Consciousness Relating To Werewolf Bite Scar, Briefly Interrupted Sex, Dirty Talk, First Time, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Hand Jobs, Intercrural Sex, M/M, Mentions of Very Mild Gore, Minor Scorpius Malfoy/Albus Severus Potter, Mutual Pining, Omega James, Prequel, Romance, Scent Kink, Scenting, Werewolf James Sirius Potter, Werewolf Teddy Lupin, background Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-15
Updated: 2016-10-15
Packaged: 2018-08-20 10:17:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8245507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shiftylinguini/pseuds/shiftylinguini
Summary: Set before Lunacy, and based on the weekend Teddy finally realised James was giving him a green light—even if James wasn't entirely aware he was doing it. Excerpt: Sometimes, James suspected that he might have fancied Teddy a bit longer than he'd let himself acknowledge, but that was neither here nor there. He was aware of it now, and nothing was ever going to happen between them, even if Teddy was sometimes a bit touch-y. And a bit flirty. And invited him around at midnight after being both of those things in quick succession...





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Llaeyro](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Llaeyro/gifts).



> For lovely Llaeyro, on her birthday. Thanks to Gracerene for the beta <3
> 
> This can possibly be read as a stand alone (but will make much more sense if you’ve read Lunacy, particularly regarding James's presentation)

***

"I reckon Scorpius fancies your brother," Teddy said contemplatively, raising his gin and cucumber whatsit to his lips and taking a slow sip. Teddy always drank the pub's specials, and tonight it appeared they were serving gin and salad and pretending it was a cocktail. Teddy did not look like he was enjoying it, and James was not tempted. He frowned thoughtfully into his pint for a moment, then turned to Teddy.

"Piss off," he said pleasantly. "Scorpius doesn't fancy Al, he fancies...what's her name." James waved a hand in the direction of the counter. "Thingy, behind the bar. Bambi, or whatever."

James scrunched his face up. Thingy Behind The Bar had short dark hair, a tattoo at the base of her spine that always peeked out when she reached to get bottles down, and was by and large the dullest person James had ever spoken to. She also consistently hit on Scorpius like he was made of Amortentia, and James was certain Scorpius had said something the other night about fancying her back. James really couldn't see the appeal, but he wasn't about to judge anyone based on their taste in people. His own were questionable at best. 

"The one with the short hair?" Teddy said with a small laugh. "Her name's Fawn, James."

James scoffed. "Yeah, her. Merlin, _Fawn_ , really? Anyway, he fancies her. He told me. Sort of." James blinked a bit drunkenly at Teddy's raised brow and challenging look. "He did!" James eyed his pint, and decided he was maybe going to have to slow down tonight; he'd arrived before Teddy and had a few on his own, and he was beginning to feel it. 

"He told you." Teddy's tone dripped disbelief. "Scorpius Malfoy said to you, specifically, that he is interested in Fawn, the Muggle-born bartender who doesn't know the difference between whiskey and Scotch and who thought I was Scorpius's uncle." Teddy looked infuriatingly smug, and James glared. 

"Shut up, Ted, she's not that bad. I like her," James lied. He sniffed. "S'an easy mistake to make anyway, you two have the same nose, and you had blond hair at the time. Besides, it's not her fault you're so much older than us." James bit his lip to keep in his grin, which burst out of him anyway at the withering stare and raised middle finger he received from his Godbrother in return. Teddy and Scorpius did look a little bit related, but only if you were squinting, and there was no way Teddy looked old enough to be Scorp's bloody uncle, not in the conventional sense at least. Teddy knew it, and so did James, but he liked to wind him up anyway. He kept talking. 

"Anyway, no one knows the difference between whiskey and the other one, it's the same fucking thing, just… One's Scottish, or whatever. And Scorp doesn't give a rat's about the Muggle thing. If anything he'd do it to get up his grandad's nose."

Teddy made a face like he was considering James's points, but had come to the conclusion that they were stupid, and returned to just looking pleased with himself. James resisted the urge to throw a mini-pretzel at him. 

He would have, usually, but he was hungry. The full moon was only seven days away, and he was subsequently hoarding his bar snacks. It always happened like this the week before; he felt hungry, horny, then horrible—the three H's of the build up to a transformation. He'd probably spend the rest of the weekend wanking and then by Monday he'd feel like he'd been hit by a train and ready to bite someone's head off. 

Come next weekend, he'd be locked up for the night to make sure he didn't actually do it. 

He shook that thought out of his head; tonight, he actually felt pretty great, and definitely not because all their usual drinking companions had cancelled and he had Teddy all to himself. That was kind of nice though. However, Teddy's theory that Scorpius had cancelled after _Albus_ had cancelled—because he was carrying a torch for the little twerp and followed him wherever he went—was total krup shit. The sooner Teddy stopped looking like he had all the answers to the known universe in his pocket the better, James thought fondly. He grinned. 

"She's actually kind of your type, Ted, now I think about it. All legs and no tits. Sure you're not just jealous?" James sing-songed, ignoring the unpleasant little twinge of jealousy of his own at the idea of Teddy actually being interested in her. James did think Scorpius liked Fawn, but he didn't want Teddy to. His inconvenient crush on Ted didn't seem to be going away, he could admit that much to himself, but he was also never going to do anything about it. In some part because, by and large, Teddy went after women, but mostly because the idea of trying it on and being told no was enough to make him want to puke. Teddy was James’s closest friend, and he wanted to keep him that way more than he wanted to get off with him. At least that was the line he was sticking with. He was pretty sure with enough repression he would stop wanting to kiss him. Eventually. 

The corners of Teddy's mouth turned down as he made a dismissive sound and fished what looked like parsley out of his drink. 

"I don't have a type. Don't change the subject, James. Scorpius fancies Albus, not Fawn," Teddy stated definitively, then smirked. "I mean, I'm not hearing a _"yes, Scorpius declared his love for her to me, Teddy, thus proving you are wrong"_ am I, Jam? So, I'm thinking you might have misheard him."

"Well, ok no, he didn't outright say it. But he _alluded_ ," James said, with a waggle of his fingers. "Or implied, or whatever. And don't call me Jam. Don't talk about food." James frowned, then sighed dramatically. "No, too late. I want Jam pancakes."

Teddy snorted a laugh, shaking his head. "Sorry, I forgot about your monthly crav— _ow_!"

James pulled his leg back, ready for another kick. He'd heard every single variation of the ‘ _that time of the month, eh, Jamie?_ ' joke from either Teddy or Al or...well, those were the only people he'd take it from, really. And by take it, he meant take it and give it back with gusto. 

"Shut it, Wolfenstein, you're just as bad and you know it," James snapped as he watched Teddy rub his shin. 

Teddy hummed appreciatively. "I _could_ eat. But never as much as you. I've seen you eat an entire chicken, James."

James rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well. I need the energy to cope with the change, blah blah blah, fuck you. It's not like I ate the bones," he finished sulkily. 

Teddy snorted another laugh. It should have been unattractive, but it was terribly appealing. James liked making Teddy laugh a rather alarming amount. Besides, it was true. Something about being born a werewolf, rather than bitten, made Teddy significantly better at dealing with all the little hassles and pains that came with it. James would have resented Teddy for it, if his godbrother hadn’t been a total lifesaver from the minute James was bitten onwards. James didn't like to think about what those nights in hospital would have been like without Teddy sneaking him chocolate bars, kicking his parents out to make sure they slept, and then falling asleep himself in the rickety chair by James’s bed. Or that first transformation in the shed his dad built, when James’s stomach had been full of Wolfsbane and his head full of white noise. James remembered he had been more terrified than he could articulate—then, or now—about what would happen that first full moon. Teddy had known it. He’d whispered “ _don't worry, I'll be right there. I bet I'm way uglier than you, you wait and see_ ” as he’d opened the creaking door. James couldn't remember what Teddy had looked like, or anything after that last crunch of bones and twist in his spine. He’d woken up face first in the remains of a rat—charming, wolf, fucking _charming_ —and sorer than he’d ever been in his life. It was disgusting; he was horrified, and hurt, and _angry_ , overwhelmed by the idea of this being part of his life now. He’d been about to lose it completely, when he’d felt a hand on his shoulder and a thin blanket over his back. Teddy had helped him to his feet, wiping the rat blood off his face with the edge of his t-shirt as he gave James a weak, exhausted smile. “ _If it helps, I ate the other one,_ ” he’d said, pointing to a mess of grey fur and entrails in the corner. James had choked out a laugh despite himself, amazed and grateful that Teddy was there, that maybe all of this wasn’t such a big deal. Teddy had a way of doing that. If James had to wake up after every moon with his face in rodent guts, then he couldn't think of anyone else he’d rather have there with him, telling him it wasn’t so bad and picking fur out of their own mouth too. To this day, he still couldn’t. 

They didn't always spend the moon together, but the wolf always acted up like the little shit it was when Teddy wasn't there. There’d be broken chairs, scratches up the door, and James’s throat was always raw the next morning from howling. Apparently the wolf liked Teddy being around as much as James did. 

James’s transformations had never gotten much better, but Teddy seemed mostly unfazed by his. It was like he and the wolf had managed some kind of companionable agreement about time-sharing his body. Or, James suspected, Teddy was just a more patient and mature person than he was and had his shit generally more together in that department. For his part, James and his furry little problem had a much rockier relationship.

"Why is everything always worse for me?" James mused contemplatively, rocking back on his chair and staring at the ceiling. 

"Because sometimes bad things happen to good people. And you're the best of people, Jamie," Teddy said, voice surprisingly soft and serious.

James's chair clunked back onto all fours, as he looked down and swallowed, suddenly awkward. He'd meant it as a joke, a throwaway comment about their shared lycanthropy. He felt his face getting hot, but not too badly; he didn't like compliments, or being fussed over, but he could almost stand it from Teddy. It did make his insides do uncomfortable flips though, suddenly full of butterflies and other inconvenient fluttery things at the warmth in Teddy's eyes. He cleared his throat. 

"And what are you then?" James said, his voice scratchy. He cleared it again, and took a measured sip, followed by a large gulp of bitter beer. He focussed on placing his glass back into exactly the same place in the condensation ring. 

"Oh, I'm just special," Teddy said with a lopsided smile. James looked up at him and almost dribbled his beer before he swallowed it down. Teddy had dimples, when he smiled like he really meant it, and without fail their appearance made James's heart skip a beat like a record skipping off track.

"You really are," James said without thinking, then cringed and twisted his mouth up in horror, shoving a pretzel into it to stop himself from saying anything else. He was worried a sonnet was going to fall out of it next. Bad enough he had a crush on Ted, no reason to turn into a complete wet fucking blanket over him. He took a long drink and swallowed his pretzelly moosh, willing himself not to blush. 

Teddy gave him a funny, appraising sort of look, then sipped at his drink. He tucked his blue-ish hair behind his ear, and sat lower in his seat, folding his arms across his chest and spreading his legs slightly. He was still in his uniform, mild and inoffensive Healer green, with a jacket thrown over the top, as he'd come to meet James straight from his shift. His hair was pulled back messily, little bits falling out and framing his face, and James gave up on trying not to stare. He had sort of resigned himself to the fact that Teddy in uniform did funny things to his insides, and, well, the bits a bit lower too, which was odd because he bloody hated Healers. Just, not this one. No, he felt quite the opposite about Teddy and his colourful hair, or the lines around his mouth when he smiled, and his strong hands, and… 

_Yeah_ , he thought, blinking his eyes wide before dragging them back to his beer. _Definitely spending tomorrow wanking_. 

"Anyway," Teddy said calmly after a moment, steering the conversation back onto safer ground. "Scorpius alluded, did he? And what exactly did he say?" 

Teddy fished out a piece of cucumber and some apple from the depths of his gin-y mess, and plopped them onto a napkin. James was so distracted by the sight of Teddy sucking his glistening fingers that it took three nods of Teddy's head before James realised they were for him to eat. 

"Oh…Cheers. Um, so Scorpius… Merlin, when was it. Ok, it was last Sunday, and you weren't here because you were on nights, I think, and it was just me and Scorp and Sal—"

"You were hanging out with Sal?" Teddy interrupted, voice stern. 

"Yeah, just for a bit." James sniffed. He'd never quite figured out why Teddy disliked Salvatore so much. James had dated him, extremely briefly, before he'd realised how incredibly annoying Sal was to spend more than one night a week with, blowjob or not. James thought he was still fine to drink with though, and there was no bad blood between them. Teddy, however, remained uncharacteristically standoffish around him. "He mostly just teased Scorp about his mystery crush and then went to meet some people at _Felicitas_."

Teddy looked appeased, then went back to removing the rest of the edible bits from his cocktail.

"Um, so yeah then it was just me and Scorp," James went on, chewing on something crunchy which he guessed was apple but which might've been celery. "And I was asking him who Sal was talking about, like who did he fancy, and he wouldn't say, but!" James held up a finger, cutting Teddy off. "But, but, but, let me finish!" James waggled his finger, and Teddy goodnaturedly dipped his fingers back in and flicked liquid into James's face. James flinched, laughing, then opened his mouth so the droplets landed on his tongue, which made Teddy stop abruptly. Teddy shifted uncomfortably in his seat and took a large gulp of his drink, wiping his hand on his trousers and turning slightly pink. He motioned for James to continue. James grinned in confusion at him—Teddy seemed a bit off tonight—and went on anyway. 

"Right, so if you're done playing with your drink Edward, I was saying." James ate another pretzel, combined with a piece of apple. It was lovely. "Scorp wouldn't say who he fancied, _but_ he did describe them," James said, enjoying his own turn to look smug. He began counting off on his fingers. "And they are slim, and have short dark hair, and are often at this pub, and he said that I knew them, so it's clearly either her or..." James trailed off. "Oh fuck, he was talking about Al." 

He slumped in his chair, a stricken look on his face as Teddy laughed and patted him on the shoulder. He turned to Teddy with wide eyes.

"I just assumed it was Fairy—"

"—Fawn—"

"—'cause Scorp doesn't like blokes."

Teddy chuckled, shaking his head. "Not everyone is as definitive in their preferences as you are, James." 

"What's that supposed to mean?" James said defensively. 

"Nothing bad. I just don't think Scorpius is entirely straight, and he definitely has a blind spot the size of a hippogriff when it comes to your brother. That happens sometimes." Teddy toyed with his napkin, expression somewhat pensive and unreadable. It was odd; James could usually read him better than a Sunday paper. He briefly considered that Teddy was implying he too had the hots for Albus but that idea was so laughably wrong James almost choked. No, it wasn't that. 

James leant back against the chair mulling the thought over, then gave up. Teddy didn't keep secrets from him, so whatever it was it'd come out sooner or later. James was also definitely going to have to bring this up with Al. Maybe…Or maybe not. Albus and Scorpius had been bickering step-brothers, who only saw each other when they had to, since they were fourteen, and then thick as thieves since they were eighteen. It was a bit weird to think of them as an item, but at the same time, not that weird at all. Either way, it wasn't any of James's business, and if Albus wanted to talk about it he wouldn't hesitate before barging into James's flat and pouring his heart out while raiding his fridge. James could offer a great shoulder to cry on, as long as you didn't mind his mute approach to offering support, and avoided the left one; it was a still a bit dicky. 

"Fair enough," James said with a resigned sigh. "How'd you figure this all out then?"

"Ah well, I'm very perceptive." Teddy shrugged. "I sort of suspected." He licked his lips, then made a face as if contemplating whether to say his next thought or not. He sighed, smiling lopsidedly. "And I totally saw them on a date earlier."

"What!"

"Yeah, three streets down from work," Teddy said with a laugh. "But I _perceptively_ saw them, so…"

"On an _actual_ date. A dating date?" 

"Think so. Looked like it." 

James whistled through his teeth. "Could've just been dinner though, you know?" 

"Mmm." Teddy nodded concedingly. "Very innocent, intimate dinner for two, which they kept secret and for which they cancelled their regular end of week plans with us." Teddy folded his hands in his lap. 

"Shit. Merlin. Still, though…Might've just been catching up, you know? They're pretty close," James tried. Teddy sighed. 

"James. I didn't want to have to say this but..." Teddy stared at him seriously until James looked back. "Albus looked as though he'd brushed his hair." 

James threw his hands in the air faux dramatically then let them land on the table with a thump. "Well that settles it. Call the florists and send out the white doves, we've another Potter-Malfoy marriage on our hands." James squinted. "And a semi-incestuous one, at that." 

"Your father will be so pleased."

"My mother doubly so."

Teddy laughed softly. "You done with that?" He nodded towards James's pint. There was still an inch or so of amber liquid in the base. James leaned back and stretched, popping his joints. His t-shirt rode up and he scratched the dip of his belly absently. Teddy watched him from under his lashes, then looked away and stared very intently at his soggy napkin again. James frowned. That was a bit unusual. He knew that look, and if he didn't know better he would have sworn Teddy just checked him out. That, or Teddy had a thing for damp napkins. Which…Well, James was never going to be on the cover of Witch Weekly, but he was pretty sure he was more check-outable than wet paper.

"Depends. We done for the night?" James said. It was only half eleven, and he had nothing on the next day, for once. He wasn't exactly drunk, but he was definitely a bit tipsy. He was also a bit keyed up, in a way that had nothing to do with the impending moon and everything to do with Teddy being a bit odd this evening, a bit quiet and thoughtful, and exactly as impossibly good looking as ever. 

"Done here, I'd say." Teddy scratched his chin. "Wanna head back to mine for bit?" 

His voice was calm, perfectly normal, and only a practiced eye would notice the faint tension in his jaw. James knew that one. _Nervous_. James felt his heartbeat speed up. If it was anyone else he would think he was being picked up. 

"Why would I want to do that?" he asked leaning forward on his elbows, trying to sound casual and cheeky, but realising with a start that _that_ had definitely sounded flirty. He had a vague moment of panic as he considered that he'd possibly just flown over a dozen red lines; he and Teddy were exceptionally close, but this was an area James had always feared to tread since his rather sudden and rather unmovable infatuation with Ted had appeared earlier in the year. 

Teddy sat, stock still, sucking slightly on his bottom lip. He looked like he was considering something, and James felt the confidence leak out of him and the worry trickle in. He was about to crack a joke, or blurt something out, _anything_ , to change the subject, when Teddy moved forward onto his own elbows, eyes keen as he smiled. 

"Well, James, if you come back with me to my place then…" 

Teddy leaned in further, his breath fanning over James's face, and James didn't dare move. They were so close he could see the flecks of green in Teddy's hazel eyes, could make out the individual hairs of his brow. The noise of the pub seemed to taper out to nothing as James stared and held his breath, waiting for Teddy to finish his sentence. He wondered for one terrifyingly exhilarating moment if Teddy was about to kiss him; they were so close, if Teddy moved barely an inch their lips would be touching. If Teddy moved, James could _kiss_ him. He couldn't drag his eyes away from Teddy's mouth, and he watched as Teddy licked his lips and tilted his head, watching James shrewdly and taking stock of his reaction. James was so engrossed he almost fell off his chair when Teddy spoke again softly. 

"...Then I'll make you pancakes."

James blinked as the noise of the room came rushing back to him. Pancakes. If he went to Teddy's house, Teddy would make him...oh. His shoulders relaxed slightly, equal parts relieved and disappointed. Well, that wasn't kissing. But pancakes were a pretty good second, he had to admit, and Teddy still hadn't moved back, something delighted sparkling in his eyes. James cleared his throat, feeling wrong-footed and excited and like something had just happened, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what. 

"Um. Right. Pancakes. And…jam?" James said, proud of how normal his voice sounded, considering he'd just had a small heart-attack at the prospect of a kiss. This _thing_ he had for Teddy was going to be the death of him. 

"So much jam." Teddy nodded his head sincerely. "Berries A through Z." 

James took a long moment to reply, partly to recover his wits, but also partly to try and remember if there was in fact a berry which started with Z, then grumbled, "Don't toy with me Lupin. If this is some kind of elaborate ruse just to get me back to your house, so help me Godric, I will maul you."

"Do your worst, sweetheart, I'm bigger than you. Besides," Teddy said with a feral grin. He stood up, draining the last of his own drink and then doing the same to James's, before licking his lips and continuing. "It can't be both?" 

"I..." James stopped, completely at a loss as to what to say to that, or which bit to address first. Or, more importantly, how to catalogue what was happening to his lower half as a result of Teddy calling him _sweetheart_ in that deep voice. That was...new. He filed that under " _Return to later_ " in the mental folder marked _Embarrassing Wank Fodder_.

"You..." James tried again, then gave up. "Oh, shut up, Ted," he finished with a sigh as he stood up as well, confused and amused and a bit turned on. Teddy laughed in reply. 

"Scathing. That definitely showed me. Come on, then."

Teddy slung an arm around him, something he did all the time but which tonight made James feel a bit giddy, and threw a two-fingered wave at Fawn as they walked out. James let himself feel gloriously smug for a moment at dashing the imaginary romance he'd invented between Teddy and Fawn, but stopped when he thought he heard her say something about ‘ _cute couple_ '; he nearly broke his neck trying to swivel around and correct her, but Teddy steered him forcefully out. James couldn't tell whether he'd heard her or not.

***

The walk to Teddy's place from _The King’s Arms_ wasn't longer than fifteen minutes. They'd picked this pub originally for their weekend meetups because it was Teddy's local and he was the one with the fullest schedule and the hardest working hours to fit socialising around. Teddy himself hadn't really been fussed, but Victoire had insisted it be near him, as she rather suspected he'd be too busy to turn up otherwise. James knew he'd see his fill of Teddy regardless, but he was glad of Vic's insistence all the same; he rather suspected that if it was on the other side of town Teddy would drag himself there anyway, and just end up exhausted.

They met there most Fridays, usually, some combination of Potters and Weasleys, a Lupin and a Malfoy and a few other friends, before they usually dispersed to other pubs, clubs, or home. Every so often, Teddy would have a woman, or the occasional man, to meet after their nights out, assuming he could make it there at all. But they never seemed to hang around long, and even that had tapered off a while ago. Victoire liked to tease Teddy about his monk-like existence, but Teddy didn't seem bothered in the slightest. More often than not James found he and Ted were the last ones standing, stumbling back to Teddy's place, and his surprisingly comfortable sofa bed, the short and pleasant walk there refreshing and sobering.

James, for his part, hadn't really found himself feeling bothered trying to pick up since he'd taken that blue-haired man home last summer, and had had a rather striking (and in hindsight, really fucking obvious) epiphany while getting what turned out to be an otherwise very dull blowjob. 

Teddy's local was also cheap, and the staff didn't mind the hideous, rowdy mess that was Albus, James or Scorpius when pissed—or, worst drunk of them all, Victoire. Dominique still hadn't forgiven her for kissing the boy she liked on her birthday. Although, Vic had possibly redeemed herself that night by hilariously throwing up on the stupidly expensive shoes of Scorpius's unpleasant girlfriend, and then telling the furious woman, as she daintily wiped her mouth with a cocktail napkin, to send her the bill. Albus had nearly thrown up himself, he'd laughed so hard, and Scorpius had found himself rather single the next day, and somehow not really that bothered. The reason for which, again, was really fucking obvious to James _now_. 

Tonight, the walk back to Teddy's place was cold, and uneventful. Well, mostly uneventful, aside from the fact that Teddy didn't remove his arm from around James's shoulders, and James had quietly gone mad as a result of how nice it felt. He'd kept his own hands shoved determinedly in his pockets, for fear of forgetting himself and putting one around Teddy's waist. It was nigh on all he could think about. 

He had subsequently not heard a single word Teddy had said the entire time it took them to get to his place from the pub. He was completely absorbed by the feeling of Teddy's forearm heavy across his shoulder, of Teddy's dangling fingers brushing the top of his bicep, Teddy's thigh against his own. It was enough to drive a man to distraction, and James was easily distracted by Teddy at the best of times, let alone when he was _touching_ him. 

Once inside the warmth of Teddy's house, James had picked a film for them to watch on the projector (something which looked boring, but which James vaguely recalled Teddy liked well enough not to fall asleep during) while Teddy banged about in the kitchen, making good on this promise of pancakes. He had also suggested James set up the sofa bed while he did so, which was a bit unusual. James usually slept on this when he stayed over, assuming he could be bothered pulling it out, or was sober enough not to break his neck while doing so. Once, he and Albus had shared it, too drunk to Apparate home, and the entire thing had flipped shut on them as they tried to set it up. It had hit James in the face, and Albus had laughed so hard he'd nearly wet himself, before fetching a bag of peas from the freezer to put on James's head. James had simply opened them up and poured them down the back of Albus's pants, and the resulting pea fight was now referred to by Teddy as the time he realised, fondly yet definitively, that both Potters were fucking idiots. James had found a dried up pea down the back of the sofa not long ago, so he felt Teddy did rather have a point. 

Setting the sofa bed up now meant Teddy was either being particularly forward-thinking and preparing for James to go to sleep, _or_ that they were going to be watching a film horizontally tonight. James tried not to get too excited at the prospect of that; he was already feeling far too excitable in general tonight. He threw the cushions and a rug over the top, and sat down to pretend he was reading the film blurb, but really just to discreetly watch Teddy cook through the open kitchen door. 

Teddy had changed into grey sweatpants and a white t-shirt as soon as they got in, further ruining James's ability to concentrate on things that weren't Teddy's arse, or arms, or the way his hair looked brushed off his face like that. How someone could make what was essentially their pyjamas look so appealing was beyond him—he himself slept in the rattiest, daggiest things he owned, and was sure he looked frightful—but then again James supposed he was a bit biased there, when it came to Teddy's general attractiveness. Objectively though, Teddy _was_ a bit of a looker. He could always turn heads from across a room, even without the height, and the ever-changing array of hair lengths, styles and colours; add those in, and James was pretty sure Teddy was so used to being stared at now that he barely even registered it. His name, and the fact that he’d born a werewolf, tended to sometimes turn a different sort of head, and not always in an entirely pleasant way. 

Teddy seemed relatively unfazed by all of this; he had once told James his general philosophy was that people had always stared at him, for reasons he couldn't control, so he just gave them something to look at. James thought it was the most thoroughly Hufflepuff form of rebellion he had ever heard of, but it summed Teddy up to a tee. If you're too polite to tell reporters and gawkers to fuck off, but you'd like them to get the message all the same, rock up with a pink mohawk and yellow eyes, don the kindest smile they've ever seen, and completely ruin their photo. They mostly never even knew Teddy was doing it, but they left him alone all the same. James thought it was genius, although he himself was rather partial to just giving people the finger. 

James supposed that Teddy knew he wasn't exactly ugly, in the same way he knew he was a werewolf, and a metamorphmagus, and not a fan of courgettes. It was just another fact, nothing to get too excited about. That measured, disarming manner Teddy had carried with him his whole life just made it all the more satisfying to tease him, as far as James was concerned. Getting a rise out of Teddy was almost as good as catching the Snitch, as the old saying went. And when pushed in the right way, Teddy always rose to the occasion. 

Sometimes, James suspected that he might have fancied Teddy a bit longer than he'd let himself acknowledge, but that was neither here nor there. He was aware of it now, and nothing was ever going to happen between them, even if Teddy was sometimes a bit _touch_ -y. And a bit flirty. And invited him around at midnight after being both of those things in quick succession... 

James frowned at the film in his hand, then shook his head and flung it onto the sofa bed. He'd think about that later, he decided, as he wandered into the kitchen on socked feet to see how this food situation was going. 

Teddy did, it turned out, have a rather large selection of jams, as well as lemons and powdered sugar, which James happily squeezed and slathered and poured onto as many pancakes as he could before he was full, and happy, and well into his second glass of gin. It was all Teddy had—half a bottle of Chester's Best, leftover from last year's birthday, which was really about as far from ‘best' as gin could possibly be. James also hated tonic, but the other option was to drink it straight, so he powered through. He found that tonight he really didn't mind. It was hard to be bothered by anything with Teddy sitting opposite him in the dim kitchen light, hair loose around him, sugar dusting his lips as he squeezed lemon over his pancake and told James a story about reattaching the fingers of a Witch who had gotten too close to a Billwater's Belligerent Barnacle earlier that evening. Teddy could have been talking about reattaching a barnacle's belligerent dick, and James wouldn't have batted an eyelid; he was too busy just watching Teddy talk. It was thus with some surprise then that he found the conversation had turned to Teddy's nan. 

"Would you believe," Teddy said as he licked his thumb. "That I got the werewolf sex talk from her?" 

James snapped to attention and made a face. "Oh, gross!"

"I know. I'm not sure who was more mortified, me or her. I'm pretty sure it was me, actually, but the look on her face. It was like she was being made to do it at wand point."

James thought back to his own Lycanthropy sex talk and suppressed a shudder at the idea of hearing about heats and mating, about knots and, Merlin, _fertility_ , from Teddy’s nan of all people. 

"How old were you?" he queried. 

Teddy looked off thoughtfully. "Eleven. Twelve? Old enough to need to be told, but not old enough to really have the faintest fucking idea what she was talking about. All, ' _you might notice some changes down below, specifically to your pe—your genit—your nether regions._ '" James laughed at Teddy's worryingly accurate impression of his grandmother, then wrinkled his nose up. 

"Wait, so what happened?" 

"We thankfully never talked about it again."

"No, I mean...Not with your nan." James squeezed some lemon into his drink, then took a sip. It was marginally improved. "I mean with you." He bit his lip, and looked down at Teddy's groin cheekily, then back up at Teddy's unimpressed face through his fringe. Teddy narrowed his eyes. 

"Shouldn't you know?"

"Nah," James said, waving the question off. "Doesn't apply to me. I've just got standard bits," he explained happily. 

James knew the basics; alphas knot, omegas have heats, and James Potter did neither because he was a beta with a capital Boring. He was pretty ok with that; knotting sounded kind of awkward, and heats sounded like hell. He knew Teddy was an alpha, because he’d asked him as soon as the motherly Medi-orderly had left the hospital room, having dumped that information onto James’s already overwhelmed head. Teddy’d laughed, thrown a chocolate frog and a pack of Exploding Snap cards at James and told him to guess which he was. He’d laughed again at James’s stunned face, responding with a gentle “ _Don’t look so worried, it’s no big deal whatever you are. Now budge up, I’ve got a thirty minute break and whoever wins best out of three games of Snap gets the frog.”_. 

James wasn't entirely sure how Teddy knew that about himself, or what exactly being an alpha meant. _"Not much_ ,” had been Teddy’s smiling explanation, when he’d asked a few months later. “ _Except maybe that's why you behave yourself better when we transform together,”_ he’d joked. James had dismissed that—the wolf was probably just bored when Teddy wasn’t there—but he’d always remained curious about what life was like on the presenting side of lycanthropy. 

"So… anything alpha-y happen?" James prodded again, seizing his chance. Teddy sat back with a sigh. 

"Well, obviously."

"And?" James asked sweetly, dangling a jam lid off the end of his knife and acting as casual as he could with a huge grin on his face. `

"And read a book, James," Teddy said with a laugh, folding his arms and looking more amused than embarrassed. 

"Oh, go on, tell me. Don't let me die in ignorance. Can't be that bad, I mean you're an alpha right? So it wasn't a, thingy, a heat or whatever. So what happened?" he asked, gin-boldened and increasingly curious. He waggled the lid until it fell off the end of the knife, and then rested his chin on his hand, eyebrows raised expectantly. _As good as chasing the Snitch_ , he thought happily to himself. 

Teddy shook his head and looked away, chewing on his lip, then clicked his tongue and looked James dead in the eye. 

"Alright, so I was wanking—don't look at me like that, where did you think that question was going to lead?" Teddy said, raising one brow at the startled expression on James's face. James blinked rapidly and swallowed; he'd known he was pushing it by asking, but somehow he hadn't thought it would lead straight to _wanking_. Teddy looked pleased with himself, sitting back further in his chair and straightening his shoulders. 

"Anyway, so I think I was about fifteen, and I was wanking, and thinking about..." Teddy made a face. "Anonymous body parts, I assume. It was all going as per usual, and then something...a bit odd happened. At the uh, the base of… Well, you know. You do know, right?" Teddy asked seriously, and James nodded slightly, feeling himself turn a bit pink at all this talk of Teddy's dick. He should possibly stop drinking around Teddy altogether after this; he was now flirting incontinently with the other man without even really being aware of it. 

"So, I was a bit surprised, but then again… I'd sort of suspected it might happen. I mean I'm not…" Teddy paused and shifted slightly in his seat. "Well, I'm not _small_ anyway, I'd figured that much out, which is a bit of a tell as to, uh, possible presentation. Not that male omegas are small either, but y'know. Well, I assume you do." Teddy took a deep breath before continuing, and James took a deep swig of his drink and concentrated on not dribbling it onto the table. What the fuck did— _not small_? He blinked again, as Teddy continued talking. 

"So, I finished up, thanked the anonymous body parts for their time, and it all went back to normal within a half hour. I told nan the next morning that I possibly should go and have a chat with the Specialist Healers. Hasn't happened since, so I guess it was like a test run." Teddy sighed, then laughed. "And at least it didn't happen while I was at school," he joked, looking at James and then frowning slightly. 

"James?" He tilted his head slightly, taking in what James could only assume was his currently ridiculous expression. James took another sip of his drink, realised it was empty, and put it back down again. _Not fucking small_?

"You alright, mate?" Teddy asked, James opened his mouth, then shut it again. Teddy looked like he was holding in a smile. "You did ask," he said kindly, and James nodded vacantly. 

"I did," James said, wondering why in the hell he had done so. He was struggling not to picture Teddy naked, now, which was really not something he needed any encouragement with at the best of times. Teddy folded his arms. 

"Anything else you'd like to know?" he said sweetly, grinning outright now. James decided that, yes, he did want to know a great many things, and maybe Teddy could opt for the ‘show don't tell' approach, perhaps? But he wasn't going to say any of that, because he wasn't an idiot. Except, apparently he was, because he found that when he opened his mouth to tell Teddy to get fucked, he actually said:

"How not small?" James clamped his mouth shut, mortified, and stared at Teddy's collarbone. He suspected eye contact right now might kill him. "I mean…" he tried in a hushed tone, then gave up. Teddy barked out a surprised laugh and tilted his head, watching James before he replied.

"Noticeably," he said after a short pause, his smile huge and warm and delighted at the look on James's face. Dimples, dimples everywhere, James thought. Oh, he was utterly fucked. There was a short, charged pause, during which James stared at the tablecloth and Teddy beamed at him for no discernable reason, before quietly saying, 

"So you picked a film?"

"Huh?" James looked up, startled out of the internal battle he was having trying not to picture Teddy wanking, ( _wanking his noticeably not-small cock_ , his traitorous brain screamed) and belatedly nodded. "Oh, right, yeah. Um. S'on the…" He waved at the sofa, not wanting to say bed. He wasn't confident his voice wouldn't crack. "S'over there. You still wanna watch it?"

"Oh, definitely," Teddy said enthusiastically, stacking the plates and then levitating them over to the sink with a soft clash of china on metal. "You want something comfier to wear?

"Err, sure."

Teddy nodded. "Bedroom, top drawer. Or the ones you usually wear might be in the basket on the floor. Help yourself to whatever." He stacked the jams back into the pantry with a flick of his wand, then inclined his head at James, who hadn't moved. 

"Go on, hop it. Get changed. I'll set everything up." 

"What? Oh, yep. Changed. Don't start it without me," James mumbled distractedly, then shook his head to clear it. He trotted obediently up the stairs to rummage through Teddy's clothes, listening to the sound of Teddy humming happily to himself in the background.

***

Ten minutes into the film, the plot of which James could not grasp and did not bother trying to understand, he realised two things. Firstly, that Teddy was possibly sort of hitting on him. And secondly, that James was maybe a bit thick, because if he thought about it, Teddy had been possibly sort of hitting on him all night, and in force. Yet James only properly registered this when they'd settled in to watch the film about Merlin knows what, idiots falling in love over a potato farm, it seemed. Dressed in a pair Teddy’s track pants, and an old t-shirt, James had clambered onto the comfortable pull-out next to Teddy, resting his drink on his stomach, and Teddy had lain down next to him. Which was all normal enough, except he had rested his thigh against James's for a moment, getting comfortable, James assumed. But then he'd left it there, a warm and gentle weight against James's own. He could feel the heat of Teddy's thigh through the thin material of their sweatpants, feel it like a burning point of focus. And as he lay there through the horrible introduction music, the room dimly lit by the flickering light of the projected film, he realised there was no reason for Teddy to be touching him. The bed was big; they didn't need to touch at all. Which meant what Teddy was doing was deliberate, which meant… Well, it probably meant one pretty clear thing, James thought rather giddily.

Although, think was all he did. He still had no idea what to do with this tentative Teddy hypothesis. Being a bit flirty and, well, successfully going on from there wasn't exactly a guaranteed route, and James still lived in abject terror of doing the wrong thing and cocking everything up between them. Teddy was like his big sort-of brother, best friend, and one-man werewolf support group all in one, and James knew he meant a lot to Teddy too, because unlike him Teddy was able to say these things out loud. But messing that up was unthinkable, and even though Teddy probably wouldn't kick James out on his arse, being looked at with _pity_ by him was possibly as bad. 

So, instead, James complained in a low tone about the film, sipped slowly at his refilled drink until the angle got too annoying and he placed it on the floor, and tried not to move his leg at all. His arm rested against Teddy's, and between that and the leg, well. That was a lot of physical contact all at once. Not to mention Teddy smelled so fucking _good_ , too. He somehow always managed to, even though he’d just spent an evening trudging up the St Mungo’s hallways, and then cooked James a midnight breakfast. Having Teddy this close, and wearing his clothes as well, was making James feel surrounded by him, by his warmth, the smell of his shampoo, and the heady scent of that same cologne he always wore. James’d always liked wearing Teddy’s clothes, from snapping up his hand-me downs to just borrowing anything of Teddy’s that would fit him. Albus playfully gave him shit about having a hard-on for their godbrother’s old socks, but Albus didn’t know the half of it, not really, and James was planning on keeping it that way. Something about wearing Teddy’s things made him feel comforted— _Safe_ —and he was pretty sure that was because if he tried really hard he could pretend they still smelled like Teddy, even after countless washes. Sometimes he didn’t even need to pretend. 

It was a bit weird, really, and embarrassing as hell, and luckily Teddy didn’t seem bothered that James kept walking off with his jeans and singlets. If anything, Teddy seemed to sort of encourage it. James didn’t think about that too hard. He just surmised it was another way he and Teddy were two peas in their own weird pod; at least, that was what his brother liked to call them, and Albus was usually pretty right about these things. 

All in all, if James felt a bit giddy before they’d started the film, he felt stupidly giddy now. It was nice. He could get used to this level of touching, he decided. He wriggled around to get comfortable and to continue griping about whatever crap he had chosen for them to watch, and to try and distract himself from the fluttering things in his stomach. Teddy moved slightly too, setting his drink on the ground as well, as he told James to " _stop bitching and just watch the fucking thing_ ". 

James watched surreptitiously as Teddy fiddled with a pillow, trying to get comfortable, before settling back on the bed. James felt a mild spike of panic that the contact was over, that Teddy was done with whatever he had maybe been starting. He tried not to dwell on how disappointed that prospect made him feel. He forgot all about that, though, when Teddy rested his weight on one elbow, leaning slightly over James. James flicked his eyes away, and stared at the projected images, trying not to look as happy about that as he felt. Ok, maybe Teddy wasn’t done getting up in his space, he thought, trying not to smile. He could feel himself responding to Teddy’s body heat, could feel his face heating up. He felt light-headed, buzzed. It was possibly dangerous. He was enjoying this far too much, and he’d always been more impulsive than wise. 

"Hey, do you—" Teddy started, before James shook his head and Teddy blinked. He opened his mouth again, but James interrupted with a soft, "Shh." 

"What?" 

"Shh, I'm trying to hear the movie," James whispered, grinning outright now. Teddy frowned gently. 

"What, you hate this movie, you were just going on about—"

"No no, you told me to just watch it, and now I'm really invested. I don't want to miss a second,” he explained playfully, unable to stop himself from trying to push Teddy’s buttons. “So, I guess you're going to have to either shut up or find some kind of non-verbal communication because I really couldn't stand not to know if Henry gets to marry Susan and what will happen to their ranch."

"What, there's no ranch—" 

James made another shushing sound, and Teddy rolled his eyes, then clicked his tongue, and placed his hand on James's stomach. He stared down at James, eyes glinting with humour, and something else that made James's heart thump. He wondered if he'd just made a horrible mistake by tasking Teddy with finding a way to talk with his mouth shut. Teddy looked like he was getting _ideas_. Teddy stared at him, then looked down at the palm he had splayed over James's belly. He began to slowly trace the words into the soft material of James's t-shirt. James lay stock still, torn between trying to figure out what Teddy was writing and trying very hard not to enjoy the feeling of his fingers too much. He failed on both counts. 

Teddy signed off with a flourish, fingers tracing around the curve of James's ribs, then smiled and looked at James expectantly. James swallowed, trying to control his heart rate. He wondered how far he could push this before Teddy snapped and either kicked him out or made good on whatever it was he was dangling in front of James tonight. James was certain something was going on here; Teddy was always affectionate, yes, and they'd spent more nights like this than James could count, but never in a _bed_ together, and never with this level of touching. James had felt turned on around Teddy before, but never had he felt like Teddy was so actively encouraging it. James licked his lips, leaning up onto his elbows, bringing his face closer to Teddy's. 

"Um. I didn't quite get that," he whispered, biting the inside of his cheek to keep the smile off his face. 

Teddy raised his brows, then ran his tongue along his teeth, and huffed a soft laugh. He looked dangerously amused, and like he was similarly contemplating how far he could push James. He shook his head softly, as he toyed with the hem of James's shirt, then scooted down the bed slightly, still resting on his arm. James nearly squeaked as Teddy's fingers crept up his stomach, glancing over his skin as he pushed James's shirt up. James tensed, bracing himself for Teddy to start tracing the words again, only on skin this time, and tried his very hardest not think about how Teddy's fingers would feel running over him. 

"Pay attention this time," Teddy whispered, face dangerously close to James's belly. 

James closed his eyes, focussing on breathing, but they flew open again when Teddy placed his hand on the bed instead, leant his weight on it, and lowered his mouth to the skin of James's left hip. He ran his tongue along the dip there, swirling a long, deliberate letter as he went. He moved slowly along, tracing the shape of a word, with the tip of his tongue and then again in broad swipes. James stared, unable to look away. It was possibly the most erotic thing he had ever seen, or felt, and he had no idea how he was supposed to react. Teddy's hair tickled his stomach, and James watched as Teddy tucked it behind an ear then ran his parted lips in a circle around James's belly button. James stopped his hips from bucking up just in time, fisted his hands in the sheet to stop them from grabbing Teddy's head. He was starting to get hot, and he was pretty sure his stomach was blushing, and Teddy was going to be able to feel it, because Teddy was currently writing on him with his _tongue_. 

He tried to focus instead on what Teddy was writing. That must have been an O, before, around his navel, and he thought he had felt a T, near the dip of his hip. Fuck, he couldn't concentrate though, not with Teddy's mouth moving over him, only inches from his cock, which was showing a lot of interest now in the proceedings. He suspected that was the point, that Teddy wanted that reaction out of him, but it was entirely possible that this was just a game, and Teddy was still just teasing. 

The softs sounds of the film played behind them and James began to radically rethink that when Teddy hooked his fingers into the hem of James's sweatpants, and pulled them down to make more room. James groaned, then slammed his mouth shut, not wanting to break the moment and, Merlin forbid, make Teddy stop. He bit his lip as Teddy ran his tongue down his hip bone, pulling the hem of his underwear down to swirl into the dip of his hip, and _surely_ that couldn't be a word. Teddy finished, resting his mouth against James's skin for a beat, then another, before brushing his hair away from his face again and looking up at James.

"Get it?"

James looked down, breathing hard, and swallowed. He shook his head. 

"Something...something with an O. And some other vowels," he managed in a breathy whisper. 

Teddy smiled and ran his finger back and forth against the skin of James's hip, where it was nestled just under his hemline. 

"Need me to write it again?"

James sank down a little lower in the bed, turned on beyond belief. Teddy _had_ to have noticed. These sweatpants weren't exactly concealing.

"I might need you to do something else," James said softly. He'd meant it as a statement, but it came out as more of a question. 

Teddy hummed, low in his throat, and kissed James opened mouthed just beneath his belly button, sucked lightly on the skin before pulling back. 

"Something like that?" Teddy's voice was low, and his eyes hot, and James nodded as he lay back down, spreading his legs slightly. 

"Yeah. That. Oh." His voice cut off as he bit his lip, Teddy moving his own lower, and his hand slid sideways under the waistband of his sweatpants. It came to rest on the drawstring, and he toyed with it, before running his hand along the length of James's hardening cock through the soft grey material. James frowned, then clenched his eyes shut. Oh, that felt good. 

"This ok?" Teddy said, palm massaging James. James nodded, shifting his hips to push up against Teddy's hands, digging his heels slightly into the lumpy mattress. Teddy kissed his stomach again, open mouthed and wet, and curled his fingers around the hem of his trousers and underwear, pulled them down lower so he could kiss the very lowest part of James's belly. James rolled his hips, stomach twitching away, as Teddy's fingers touched the shaft of his cock. James could hear his own breathing, too loud in the room, and the wet sounds of Teddy's mouth moving lower, as he eased James pants down over his hips. James lifted them to help him, and then settled back down, his cock now out and hard against his belly. 

He had a moment, then, of not exactly worry, but it's close cousin. That was his _dick_ and that was _Teddy_ who had just got him hard and pulled it out, and this was possibly a really, really bad idea. Only, he thought as he watched Teddy with wide eyes, it didn't _feel_ like a bad idea. Teddy ran his bottom lip over the head of James's cock and looked up at James as he then ran his hand up and down it. No, James thought, heat flushing through his chest and face, this felt really _good_. 

Teddy looked at him one last time, then shut his eyes and moved down, bringing his mouth to meet his fist, and then slid back up again. James made a strangled moan, hands clenching in the sheet, and Teddy hummed and did it again. James watched him, mouth hanging open stupidly, and shifted his weight onto one arm when Teddy grabbed at his hand, lifting it up and into his own hair. He hummed again, bobbing his head in a steady pace. James tangled his fingers in the silky blue strands and groaned loudly, shifting his hips in time with Teddy's mouth. Fuck that was hot. _Fuck_. Teddy's mouth felt good, his hair felt nice. James felt so turned on by all of it, by the mere thought that this was even happening. 

He grabbed Teddy's hair, pulling him up; if this was a one off, which he really hoped it wasn't but James was nothing if not prepared to be practical, then he was getting a kiss. Teddy pulled off of him, a frown between his brows and a worried look on his face. 

"Sorry, shit, is this not—mmmf!"

"This is amazing. This is great." James managed to say into Teddy's mouth, struggling with the drawstring of Teddy's sweatpants. "Shit, how do these even..." He gave up and ran his hand along the length of Teddy, felt him becoming fully hard in his palm through the soft material, and sucked his tongue into his mouth. Fuck, Teddy hadn't been lying about the not-small part. He was… He felt _big_ , James thought dizzily. He felt great, and James really needed to figure out how to get less clothes on Teddy, now. Teddy groaned, pressing down into him, and James moved his hand round to the small of his back, rucking his t-shirt up and feeling Teddy's stomach hard against his own. He rolled his hips, and Teddy pushed back, setting up an easy, slow rhythm. He kissed James slowly, tongue pushing inside, and James felt his toes curl, the backs of his knees tingle. He'd hoped Teddy would be a good kisser. Teddy kissed along his jaw, hips moving against James's own in a slow dirty roll, and whispered, "What do you want me to do?" 

"What— _ohh_ —what kind of question is that?"

Teddy smiled against the skin of his neck. "A relevant one, I would say."

James swallowed. "Um. You can… Do you..." James trailed off, distracted by the feeling of Teddy's lips on his neck. He swallowed and concentrated on coming up with an answer that wasn't simply " _anything. You can do anything._ " 

"...Do I?" Teddy prompted, biting gently at James's earlobe, and running one hand up the back of his thigh to the crease of his knee. 

"Um. Do you wanna fuck me?" James said into Teddy's mouth, sucking gently on his lower lip as Teddy groaned and pressed him hard into the mattress, dug his fingers briefly into the meat of his thigh then let go again. 

"Sounds like maybe you do?" James said as coherently as he could with his brain currently melting from the rhythm of Teddy's hips. And the idea of being fucked by him, of Teddy pushing inside. Godric, he wanted that. 

"You can fuck me if you want," James said breathlessly, enjoying the soft, startled noise Teddy made at his words. James licked his lips then kissed Teddy's chin, his mouth open and wet. "I like that, y'know. Being fucked," he mumbled. 

" _Uhh_." Teddy ground down against him hard, and James ran his teeth along the line of his jaw. "I knew you'd be like this," Teddy said with a light laugh. 

"Like what?" James frowned, and Teddy grinned, and leant his weight on one arm, the other hand running up the length of James's side, pushing his t-shirt up to his ribs. He leaned back down until his face was inches from James's own. 

"Noisy," he whispered into James's mouth, then kissed him. James sighed into it, rocking his hips up, chasing the faster rhythm Teddy was setting with the steady roll of his own. "I knew you'd be noisy."

"Thought about it much then, have you?" James managed. It would have had a far better impact if he hadn't sounded so breathless, but James was having trouble thinking with that steady roll of Teddy's hips between his legs. 

Teddy pulled back, mouth open and quirked into a lopsided smile, as he ran his nose along James's. "Once or twice," he said. He hooked a finger in the base of James's rucked up t-shirt, and pulled it out. "Flip over," he said, sitting back and onto his knees, legs on James's side. 

James moaned at the loss of contact and blinked up at him. "Huh?" he managed, and Teddy gripped him by the sides, fingers strong and palms warm.

"I said flip," he said again, firmly, before playfully tipping James onto his stomach. "Over."

James landed with a grunt that turned into a startled laugh. "Fuck. I did not know you would be like this."

"Like what?" Teddy said, nudging James's legs together with his knees, and sitting over the backs of his thighs. "That mean you've thought about it too then, huh?" he said, mimicking James, who breathed out another surprised laugh, which turned into a hitched moan as he felt Teddy begin to ease his sweatpants down fully, so his arse was completely bare. 

"So… _bossy_ —uh!" He gasped as Teddy wiggled a hand under him and wrapped a palm briefly around his cock. He made a soft pleased noise, pumping his fist over it once, twice, then letting go. 

"Mm," Teddy hummed, kissing the base of his spine, the top of his arse cheek, biting lightly at the globe of flesh as he pulled his own sweatpants down to his thighs. "Is that not…working out for you?" he asked sincerely, running his fingers in a soothing line down James's side. "I can be less bossy."

James stretched his arms out under the pillow, wriggling his hips and trying not to push back against Teddy too obviously. Working out for him… He felt like he was alight all over, strung taut and ready to snap. He felt like now he was here, all the fantasies he'd ever entertained were paling in comparison to the real thing, the real press of Teddy's fingers against him, the feel of his mouth, his weight, _Merlin_ , his cock, against James. He felt like bossy wasn't really anywhere near an accurate description of how Teddy was, how he seemed to be everywhere, how it felt to have his strong hands on him. James didn't know how to say that, though, how to begin to say that, so he settled for something much simpler. 

"No, it's good. You're good," he mumbled into the pillow, arching back and feeling Teddy kiss his way back up his spine. "You're really fucking good. Are you gonna… Are we…" He pushed his arse up as high as he could with his legs pressed together. He felt shameless, like a cat in heat. He couldn't quite reach back against Teddy, but he hoped he would get the picture. Teddy groaned a low sound that suggested he had. 

"Take this off," he said plucking at James's shirt. "Take this—I want to see you."

He sat back, making room so James could rise up onto his elbows, and James complied, wrangling his right arm out of his t-shirt, until he remembered with a start why he didn't normally do that. 

"What's wrong?" Teddy said, kissing his bare right shoulder. "Do you need more room, I can move back..." 

"Um, no, well, I—" James licked his lips, embarrassed all of a sudden. He didn't usually take his shirt off, not often, and definitely not the first time he took a bloke to bed. Trying to explain the large bite scar on his shoulder was… More trouble than it was worth for those kinds of encounters. But this was _Teddy_ , not a hook up. It was different. Right? And it wasn't like James was shy. Teddy had seen his left shoulder. Hadn't he? Surely he had, when James had been in hospital, or after a transformation. It wasn’t like they could exactly do that with their clothes on, but James couldn’t recall Teddy ever mentioning it. Teddy definitely knew what was there, either way, so there was no reason for James to feel embarrassed or worried about him seeing it. Teddy would have seen the base of the scar on his ribs already when he pushed his shirt up. It was no big deal, surely, he told himself. And yet, he couldn't quite explain why he suddenly didn't want Teddy to see the mark on his shoulder, his upper back, and why he simultaneously… really did. 

"James?" Teddy had stopped moving, James realised, and he began to realise he wasn't moving either. What was he doing? He was ruining this, he reprimanded himself, feeling ridiculous, and anxious. _Just take your fucking t-shirt off_! He made a frustrated noise, angry with himself, and began to try to lift his head through the neck hole of the white material, when Teddy stilled him. 

"Hey," he said said wrapping his arms around James and sitting up, pulling James up with him. James struggled for a moment, and then gave up. He opened his mouth to apologise, make a joke, but nothing came out so he shut it again and hung his head. Teddy smoothed the hair off the side of James's face. 

"I'm sorry. You can leave this on," he said softly, arm around James's chest, one hand splayed on his belly. James made another frustrated sound. He didn't want to leave it on, he wanted to go back about five minutes, switch his brain off, and for none of this to have happened. He felt stupid, and annoyed, and childish. Some glorious first time this was turning out to be. 

"Do you want to stop?" Teddy said quietly, pulling away, and James could have screamed he was so disappointed. Teddy moved his hand slightly, and James grabbed it, clutching it in his hand and holding it tight against his stomach. 

"No, no, no," he said frantically. "We can just… Sorry. I'm not… I don't." He sighed. "I don't wanna stop."

"Okay," Teddy said, mouth close against his ear. "You wanna keep going?"

"Yes." James felt Teddy press up against his arse, his cock having softened slightly during James's spontaneous, internal t-shirt crisis. 

"You feel alright?" Teddy pulled the lobe of his ear between his teeth, and James closed his eyes. 

"Yeah."

"Okay." Teddy ran his nails along James's stomach, up to his chest and over one nipple, until he reached James's half on t-shirt and began pulling it back down James's bare shoulder. James twisted and shook his head, pushing his shoulder out again. 

"No?" Teddy asked. James shook his head again. "Do you want me to help you take this off?" Teddy whispered, voice quiet and gentle as he rolled his hips against James's arse, his cock a hot hard line once more, and James nodded, breath hitching as Teddy ran his other hand along the length of his dick, coaxing it to hardness again. 

"Off, on, off. Such a contrary fucker," Teddy said kindly, gently, as he eased the shirt over James's head. James barked out a laugh, relieved and grateful all at once, and felt Teddy smile against his cheek. James wiggled the t-shirt off his arm, and dropped it onto the bed.

"I've seen worse, you know," Teddy said, mouthing the back of his neck. 

"You better not be— _uh_ —talking about my dick." James rested his head back against Teddy's shoulder, felt him laugh behind him as he sped up the strokes of his hand. "Anyway. S'not a competition Ted," James said playfully and Teddy rumbled another laugh behind him, pushing him back down onto his stomach. James landed with a soft oof, and smiled into the pillow, then groaned, as Teddy lifted him on to his knees, arse in the air, and pressed his legs together once more. "Oh. Are we...gonna…you can—"

"Not this time," Teddy said, summoning a small tube of lube from upstairs, clicking the cap open and squeezing it onto his palm, onto himself. "Next time, maybe. We're just gonna...Do this, right now," he said pushing his slicked cock between James's thighs, and then out again, with a soft sigh. The head dragged against the underside of James's cock, against his balls, and he arched his spine, pushing back for more. This was good. This would do. But what about…

"Next time, like, in the m— _ohh_ —the morning?" James said, the rhythm of Teddy pushing between his legs making it hard to think about anything else. Teddy laughed breathily at James's words, moving a little faster. 

"I _knew_ you'd be like this," Teddy said, his voice thick, sounding as gone as James felt. He leant his weight fully on one hand, the other moving back to James's aching cock. 

"Fucking perfect," Teddy said to his shoulder blades, leaving wet, open mouthed kisses there as his moved faster still, as his hips pumped faster. "Next time, we'll do that—later, another time, promise. Do it properly. Open you up slowly with my fingers, with my— _ahh_ —tongue. Make you fall apart. Merlin, I wanna watch that, watch you come, I want—I want everything."

"Fuck, fuck, keep talking," James stammered out, leaning on his elbows. He was going to feel embarrassed, later, about how much that was turning him on. Embarrassed, and fucking fantastic, because next time, there was going to be a next time, and another, and another; Teddy wanted everything, and ‘everything' was a _lot_. "Oh fucking hell, I'm gonna—I'm so close, keep doing that, with your han—oh fuck, oh _fuck_!" James gripped the sheet, knuckles white as Teddy's hand sped up, his cock rubbing between James's thighs, his breath warm on James's back. James came, keening into the pillow, trying to smother the amount of noise he was making, trying not to shout. He failed. 

James sagged onto his elbows, warm lethargy spreading through his limbs as Teddy kept moving his hips, then pulled back abruptly and began fisting his cock. He pushed down on the small of James's back, his breath loud and harsh before he groaned loudly. James arched his back, felt heat across his arse, the base of his spine as Teddy came. His hips stuttered and his dick twitched at the idea of it; Teddy's come on him, on his skin. It was bizarrely erotic, having Teddy _on_ him, his sweat and saliva and come and _scent_ and fuck, James had clearly lost his mind. 

"Oh, fuck. _James_." Teddy leant his damp forehead on James's back for a moment and they both tried to catch their breath. James really wanted to lie down, but… Well, that was going to be unpleasant. Slowly, Teddy pulled back, one hand still firm on his ribs, and used James's discarded t-shirt to wipe at the mess on James's back and arse, on his own hand. James wobbled up onto all fours, determined not to lie down in his own cooling damp spot, as Teddy seemed to hunt for his wand. He grumbled slightly, pulling his sweatpants back up, before giving up and getting off the bed, then turning back and pulling James up too. 

"Wha—" James laughed slightly as he climbed ungainly off the bed, his sweatpants still around his thighs. 

"Woah, easy," Teddy said with a soft smile. "All good?" James nodded shakily, and Teddy pulled him to him, chest to chest. His hair was a mess, and his cheeks flushed and ruddy. He peered over James's shoulder at the ruined sofa bed, then bit his lip. 

"Maybe we should head upstairs. To the proper bed?" he asked quietly, hesitating a moment before leaning in to brush a tentative kiss across James lips. James thought it was quite ridiculous to be shy after he'd just made James come harder than he could remember doing in ages, but it did kick-start those fluttering things in his stomach again. He nodded, and Teddy ducked slightly to pull his trousers up, tucking him away. 

"Lead the way," Teddy said into James's mouth. James really wanted to kiss him, just quickly, but he also really like the sound of a clean, warm bed, so he turned and headed for the stairs, Teddy padding along behind him. 

At the top of the stairs and the entrance to Teddy's bedroom, James stopped, feeling that not-quite-worry start to churn in his belly again. He wasn't sure what to do with that feeling, if it was worth it or not. He felt a little anxious about getting into Teddy's bed, about what would happen afterwards, or in the morning, or in a week's time. Above that though, he felt fine, drowsy, happy, still a little tipsy. He felt calm, he realised, as Teddy crowded up behind him, hands on his hips and fingers long and warm as he kissed the back of James's neck. Teddy steered him inside, and James crawled into bed and under the covers. 

Teddy removed his sweat pants, and got in next to him in his underwear, stretched his legs out. James wasn't usually much of a cuddler, and he wasn't sure if Teddy wanted him to do that or not, so he awkwardly lay on his back, then turned onto his side. He rested his chin on the pillow and watched Teddy for a long moment as Teddy stared thoughtfully at the ceiling. They would probably need to have a talk soon, about what had just happened, and how they were going to play this. James could practically see the cogs turning in Teddy's head now, and while he knew it would probably not be an unpleasant chat, he still wanted to prolong having it for as long as he could. This was nice, between them now. They could work out the finer points later. Hopefully after more sex, and a shower. 

Right on cue, Teddy looked over at James and opened his mouth to speak. James rolled over onto his back, the blankets shuffling around him, before he quietly spoke, cutting Teddy off. 

"So what did it say?" 

Teddy blinked at him, face scrunched into a frown as he carded his fingers through his own hair. "Huh?" 

"The—on my stomach. What did you write." James turned to look at him, feeling his chest swell and the corners of his mouth turn up at the surprised, happy look on Teddy's face. 

"Oh," Teddy said with a laugh. "Right. Um." He shifted slightly, getting comfortable. He laughed again. "I was just asking if you wanted to stay the night." He grinned at James. James licked his lips, warmth spreading through him. He was probably blushing. He didn't really care. He returned to looking at the ceiling, chewing on the inside of his cheek to keep his huge, ridiculous smile in. 

"And that offer still stands?" James asked in his best serious voice. 

Teddy made a surprised sound, sitting up and leaning over James. "Yes, of course it—" he cut himself off as James grinned at him. Teddy huffed another laugh, and flopped back down again, roughly pulling James against his side after a moment. "Idiot," he mumbled, shifting to get comfortable and settling James against him. 

"Oh, idiot, is it? I can leave, if you'd prefer—" James started, smile splitting his face. Teddy tightened his arm around him. 

"Go on then. Try," Teddy replied gruffly. James wriggled about some more, draping one leg over Teddy's thighs and adjusting his left shoulder so his weight was off it. Teddy threaded a hand up into his hair, and then down to his neck, massaging gently. James sighed. 

"Sounds like a lot of effort, to be honest. Reckon I'll just stay."

Teddy chuckled in reply. "Mmhmm. Reckon you will." He ran his fingers back and forth through James's hair, and James let himself drift off until Teddy spoke again. 

"So what d'you want for breakfast then?"

James smiled into Teddy's skin, sleepy and warm. "Steak," he mumbled, and Teddy laughed underneath him. 

"Steak?" 

"Mmm, steak. Apples." He bit his lip. "And maybe a blow job," he whispered, running his hand through the hair around Teddy's navel. Teddy groaned, shifting his hips slightly. 

"Quit that," he said, mock-sternly. 

"Can't get it up again, old man? I completely understand," James said, very much wide awake again, as he moved to cup Teddy's dick in the palm of his hand. Teddy slowly turned his head to look down at James's smiling face. 

"I beg your fucking pardon," he said, voice hard but playful. James tried to school his face into something less giddy and smitten. He failed. 

"Well, I just know someone your age might need a while to recover his—oh!" James landed on his back as Teddy flipped him over, lying between his thighs. 

"Is that right?" he asked, hands grabbing James's wrists and holding them level with his head. James looked up at him innocently. 

"I'm happy to be proven wrong," he said sweetly, as Teddy licked his way up his neck and bit his earlobe. 

"I'll bet you are," he growled, rolling his hips, slowly, and James let his legs fall apart, his own dick half way to hard again. Merlin, he loved getting a rise out of Teddy, and now….Now he had an even better way to do it. He grinned, and then frowned as his breath caught, Teddy's lips latching onto his nipple, nipping at it lightly. Teddy pulled back and smiled up at him. 

"I fucking _knew_ you'd be like this."

***

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are love! Come find me on [LJ ](http://shiftylinguini.livejournal.com/profile/)or [tumblr ](https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard)<3


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